Rebel lawmaker Partha Bhowmick has vacated his government bungalow, which served as Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s de facto Delhi headquarters, amid a deepening crisis following a series of exits since the party lost power in West Bengal last month after 15 years.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat on June 9 assigned Bhowmick a flat as his new official residence following his request. Bhowmick has eight days to convey acceptance or refusal of the new accommodation and complete formalities in accordance with parliamentary housing rules.
The bungalow has been locked, and TMC’s Delhi operations have been shifted to the South Avenue residence of Rajya Sabha lawmaker Nadimul Haque. Banners of TMC leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have been removed from the bungalow.
The TMC, which lost its national party status in 2023 and entitlement to an office space in Delhi, has been firefighting since it lost power in West Bengal. It expelled two of its 78 legislators in the state before 57 of them rebelled and backed Ritabrata Banerjee as leader of the opposition in the assembly. At least 16 TMC Lok Sabha members rebelled and met West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.
On Monday, TMC’s Sukhendu Sekhar Ray quit the Rajya Sabha. His party colleagues in the Upper House, Prakash Chik Baraik, followed suit on Thursday, and Sushmita Dev a day earlier, reducing the party’s strength to 10 in the Rajya Sabha.
